


Family bonded by trauma

by bluesargayent



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon, Short & Sweet, do not read it you like Artemis's parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-03 23:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14007252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluesargayent/pseuds/bluesargayent
Summary: Artemis is receiving recognition for his sacrifices in The Last Guardian, his family isn't exactly there to support him, but the Fowls aren't his only family.





	Family bonded by trauma

**Author's Note:**

> Somehow I always come back to this fandom. Oh well. Enjoy!

“Hey, Artemis!” Holly skidded over to where her friend stood, relieved to find someone she knew in the crowd of people way higher ranked than her. Thankfully, he hadn’t been hard to find considering he and Butler loomed over the rest of the three-foot fairies like reeds in a pond.

“Hello, Captain Short.” Artemis was more curt than usual in his response. He rarely ever referred to her as 'Captain Short' anymore, but she figured it was most likely the nerves Artemis swore never got to him. Holly was relieved she wasn’t the only one finding the crowd intimidating, even if the crowd wasn’t even there for her tonight. Every once in a while, an elf would stop to stare at her, stunned, until she glared back. That’s what she got for saving the world several times over, apparently.

“Hey, Butler.” She and the enormous bodyguard exchanged nods. 

“Holly.” The bodyguard was dressed in a fancier suit than normal, and, as far as she could tell, possessed limited firearms. At first glance, he appeared more relaxed than his typical self, but there was still an undertone of edginess. Maybe it wasn’t just the crowd putting the pair on edge.

“Where’s your parents, Mud Boy? Are they coming late?” 

In that moment, she saw Artemis freeze. It was small—completely unnoticeable if you didn't know him as well as she did, but still there and concerning. After a pause, he responded, “They won’t be coming.”

“What? Why?”

She watched the boy choose his words carefully, his devoutness to his parents still winning as he struggled to justify the pair of them missing his award ceremony where he’ll receive the Golden Pine—the highest recognition any fairy could be given. Not only that, but they were missing history being written as he became the first human to ever receive the award.

Butler saved him the trouble by cutting in with, “Myles and Beckett have parent-teacher conferences tonight. Senior and Angeline felt it would be detrimental to the twins to miss it,” He didn’t seem particularly pleased about the situation either.

“Myles and Beckett,” Holly repeated, “Who are practically at the top of their class?”

“Yes.” Artemis snapped, before recollecting himself. “They just want to make sure they’re doing all they can to be involved parents.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Great job they’re doing at that.”

This wasn’t the first time the Fowls had chosen to focus their parental efforts on their younger offspring. Holly was certain it wouldn’t be the last. Even before the twins came along, she knew his parents typically gave the minimum effort of involvement. She realized they were at least trying now, but she also knew the picture their efforts painted looked suspiciously like they were doing detail work on the final project, and leaving their eldest son as a rough draft, forever a work in progress.

Artemis was still struggling to defend his parents. And if _Artemis_ was struggling, that meant it was nearly impossible. “They also were opposed to supporting my, ah, legal-adjacent activities by making an appearance.”

“What?” The Golden Pine was given for works of heroism. As in, the saving the world kind. The award was on par with the top honors Holly received as an LEP officer, and she knew personally how reluctant the Council had been to present the either of them with their prizes.

“Did you explain what the award is?” Holly looked towards Butler, but he just shook his head in past defeat.

“Yes.” Artemis cleared his throat. “I believe they are under the impression I conned my way into receiving it.”

All Holly could do was gape at that. Her mind fluttered back to over a year ago, with him pressing his lips to her forehead and walking away for what could easily have been the last time ever. She remembered how brave he had been and how far he had come from the boy she first met years earlier. This award wasn’t exactly something you could con yourself into, even if you were Artemis Fowl.

"How could they possibly think that? Shouldn't they be happy you're doing so much to help others?" _Happy that you're finally living up to their unreasonable expectations?_ Even Holly knew how his parents had made an overnight decision to snap their criminal enterprise straight onto the straight and narrow, and expected their son to do the same without warning. Knew how they turned a blind, yet disappointed, eye on his illegal activities, even if these activities kept the business afloat. Knew how they carefully supervised Artemis's interactions with his younger brothers. Knew how her friend was pained by his situation, no matter how much effort he took to hide the fact.

Holly never understood his unwavering loyalty to his parents, but she wasn't going to be the one to break it. Judging from Butler's silence, he wasn't going to either.

Artemis cleared his throat and she could tell he was desperate to move past the subject. Holly walked forward and grabbed his and his bodyguards’ hands to pull them towards her, and eventually towards the snack table. They submitted to the change in course. She walked backwards so she could still talk to them, confident that anyone behind her would eagerly scamper out of their way as soon as they saw the trio coming.

“Foaly and Mulch are already here with No1,” She explained, “They want a photo of all of us together at some point, possibly for Diggums to sell to some shady tabloid, and I’m pretty sure Caballine also wants to frame it.”

Artemis smirked and opened his mouth to form some sarcastic comment, and Holly felt relieved that his flaky parents hadn’t ruined his night. From her other side, Butler made a joke about the inevitable height issue that would come up and she punched his leg jokingly.

The Fowls may have given up on their eldest son, but family wasn’t always related by blood. Sometimes it was by being bonded by trauma and height disparities.


End file.
